Atlanta, Georgia Local News
‘The state of our city is strong’: Dickens state of the city address preaches progress
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Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
The auditorium inside the Woodruff Arts Center filled quickly after 8 a.m. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens was going to give his annual State of the City Business Address. Coming out onto the stage to Usher’s “Yeah!”, Dickens immediately thanked the three former Atlanta mayors in attendance; Ambassador Andrew Young, Bill Campbell, and Shirley Franklin.
Dickens took a moment to thank the numerous government officials, City of Atlanta employees, his family and close friends. He also took time to thank the family of former Atlanta Mayor and legendary civil leader Maynard Jackson, the first Black mayor in the city’s history, who were also in attendance. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Jackson being elected.
“I’m blessed to have a talented group of people on my team,” Dickens said.
Governor Brian Kemp was not in attendance, but was also acknowledged by Dickens for his work leading the state.
“The state of our city is strong,” said Dickens at the beginning of his address. He listed a couple of reasons why he believes the city is in as good of fiscal and professional shape as it has ever been. Dickens listed the services provided to citizens, effective government, the city’s strong AA+ credit rating, and how there is a better relationship between the city and state governments.
He even had time to joke about the never-ending potholes blanketing the metro Atlanta area. Dickens said more than 23,000 potholes were filled during his time in office, including on DeKalb and Cascade avenues, and on West Paces Ferry Rd. All very busy streets, particularly during rush hour traffic and on weekends. This drew a massive amount of applause from the capacity crowd.
“All of these things are a testament to our city’s forward momentum,” Dickens said.
That forward momentum includes the reduction in violent crime which has continuously been highlighted by both the Mayor’s office and the Atlanta Police Department (APD). Dickens credited the creation of units like APD’s CARE unit and the nightlife division, which began in 2022.
Both housing and finding constructive things to do for and with the city’s youth have been bedrock’s of Dickens’ tenure as mayor. He asked a man named George to come to the stage. The former truck driver, who now needs a wheelchair to get around, fell on hard times following multiple strokes and wound up homeless. George now lives at The Melody, a community of shipping container homes that the City recently debuted as a part of a homelessness initiative. Dickens has a goal of having 20,000 units of affordable housing built and The Melody is one way to inch closer to that number.
“I’m thankful to say now George has a key to a place he can call home,” Dickens said. “We’re not done yet. We’re going to have some more Melodies across Atlanta.”
On the eve of an election year Dickens pulled out all of the stops during this year’s State of the City address. There are goals to build a MARTA station with rail and access to the Beltline on the Southside. Dickens also mentioned plans to build three infill MARTA stations throughout Atlanta. The mayor called MARTA “underutilized, in part because we don’t have enough stations located where our residents need them most.”
The diversity of the city was on full display with the morning’s invocation, prayer, and benediction being performed by Rabbi Peter Berg from The Temple, Rev. Dr. Dock Hollingsworth, Senior Pastor at Second Ponce De Leon Baptist Church, and Imam Plemon T. El-Amin of Atkanta Masjid of Al-Islam.
Prior to Dickens taking the stage, Woodruff Arts Center President and CEO Hala Moduelmog, Carol Tome’, UPS CEO & Atlanta Committee for Progress Chair, and The Coca-Cola Company Chairman & CEO James Quincey. A performance from a pair of spoken word artists from the Morehouse College Theatre Ensemble also took place during the event.
During Tome’s time behind the microphone, she echoed the Mayor’s “team project” ethos for the city. “We all have to have a role to play in the Mayor’s key initiatives,” she said.
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Donnell Suggs
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